Night and Day : A Post Piracy Sanji Side Story
by Aoikami Sarah
Summary: After the Strawhats break up, Sanji goes back to tell their former musician Harmony that the Pirate King is still alive  and hopefully find a new life on Largo Atoll.
1. Eulogy for a Pirate King

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

_Original characters Harmony Sairen, Opus, Bravo, Kerodo Clef, Rubato, Rupert Krähe and Mokuhana Gen belong to aks. Weda, Hare, Dama, etc. belong to Kindaichi Renjuro._

_This story takes place in my fanfiction "The Pirate King is Dead - Long Live the Pirate King" where Luffy was captured, nearly executed and subsequently freed. The crew has split up. We join Sanji on his way to tell my original character Harmony Sairen (who first appears in the fic "A Pirate's Life For Me! We Need A Musician!") that Luffy is alive and well._

_If you have already read "The Pirate King is Dead - Long Live the Pirate King" you can skip ahead to chapter 3. -aks_

**Chapter One - Eulogy for a Pirate King**

Under the stars, Sanji leaned against the railing and watched the black water churn around the ship. Vivi had found him passage on a trade ship carrying dates and textiles, the first ship leaving Arabasta that evening for the west. What it lacked in glamour, it made up for in speed, but it was still slow in Sanji's mind.

To anyone else aboard he appeared calm, cool and collected. He took a drag off his cigarette and rolled the filter between his fingers. "Can't this piece of shit boat move any faster?" he muttered to himself. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. '_No use,' _he thought. '_Might as well enjoy the view.'_

He turned and watched Arabasta disappear behind them. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Not that he had anywhere to go. Without a crew of reliable, strong friends, further travel along the Grand Line was out of the question. His search for All Blue was effectively put on a major hiatus. He needed to sort out what he was doing and where he was going, but in the time it had taken him to travel from Rogue Town he hadn't been able to decide on anything.

Vivi offered him a job as Royal Chef to the Nefertari family, which Sanji declined. He lied when he told her Kohza's name didn't sound familiar. He knew things between he and her childhood friend would be awkward, especially when he couldn't contain his outbursts of affection. Sanji could see it now; a state dinner, dignitaries everywhere, the royals dressed to the nines and him mooning over Vivi with huge hearts in his eyes asking Vivi-chan how she liked the pan-seared sea bass.

He crushed out one cigarette and lit another. "I hate waiting," he grumbled. He stared at the expanse of stars and sighed. For the first time in many years, Sanji sang.

"_Bed sheet waves mirror the night sky. And the stars sway and sparkle more than those in the heavens do…"_ he sang quietly, an octave lower than _she_ would have. "Why am I so nervous?" he asked the darkness. "She's not a little girl anymore. I should be happy about that, shouldn't I?" He pictured an older, curvaceous, long-lashed, long-legged, dark-skinned, pink-haired girl whose velvety voice made him weak. He clutched the railing tightly. "Why don't I want to see her?"

**.x.**

Harmony ran a brush through her sausage-curl bangs one more time and they sprung right back into place. She adjusted her trade-mark huge bow, checked her hair from the back with a small mirror and stared at her reflection. She was surrounded, as usual, by flowers of every shape and color imaginable delivered from her fans. She recalled a time over five years ago when a strange young man opened her dressing room door, let himself into her life, and changed it forever.

She looked up at the door's reflection and tried to imagine him standing there, unblinking with that stubborn look on his face that said '_my mind is made up'_.

"Say yes," she whispered and clutched the brush. Someone knocked at the door. Harmony wiped a few tears from her eyes before answering.

"Five minutes to curtain, Miss Sairen," a blue-haired man in a sleek, black tuxedo informed her.

"Thank you."

"Are you sure you're ready?" he asked, noting the tissue she worried.

"It's been a week. That's more than enough mourning for me, for the fans and for him. I owe it to all of us to go on stage tonight." She got up and followed the man out, pausing to touch the large wooden box that stood to the left of the door. "Wish me luck, Vincento."

The theatre in the Casino Sea Note was filled to capacity. In the back, the walls were lined with even more fans who accepted standing-room-only just to see the legendary Harmony Sairen perform for the first time in a week. The house lights dimmed and the room filled with applause even before the curtain went up.

Sanji leaned against the wall and watched, wide-eyed as the orchestra began playing a soft, sweet melody. The audience quieted. The curtain parted and standing in the single spotlight was Harmony, wearing sparkling gold jewelry and a pale green dress that hugged her curves and fell all the way to the floor. She put her right gloved hand to a large microphone on a stand in front of her. "Good evening," she said quietly. "Welcome to the Sea Note. I apologize for my absence. You see," she said, her voice following the pace of the music mounting behind her. "I've lost someone very dear to me. I hope that everyone who wanted to see me last week will enjoy this evening. This show is for him."

The notes sounded familiar, but until she started singing, Sanji wasn't sure he'd heard the song before. It was completely re-arranged, slower, somber and beautiful in a way he never imagined it could be.

"_Wanted, wanted…"_ she sang slowly. "_The best nakama in the world. Wanted, wanted, the best feeling… Who was he? He was Monkey D. Luffy… The man who became the Pirate King…"_

Sanji's heart went into his throat. If she sang one more line like that one, he knew he wouldn't make it through the performance without weeping. He debated going outside, but trying to get through the tightly packed crowd was not an option. Fortunately, the music swelled and picked up into a big-band version of "Wanted" much more in the style he remembered. Harmony snapped her fingers and smiled wide, her eyes glistened with tears, but her voice was clear and strong. "_Dakara, kitto ai ni ikanakya! Mochi kirenakutte, kiechau maeni!"_

She played and sang a set of about twenty songs, many of which Sanji recognized as the ones she had written for his nakama. The orchestra geared up for the finale. Harmony picked up a violin and played a plaintive melody that built up before breaking into a rolling beat. Sanji covered his mouth with his hand and trembled slightly.

_Aritakeno yume o kakiatsume  
Sagashi monno sagashi ni yuku no sa  
Pocket no coin, soreto you wanna be my friend?  
We are, we are, on the cruise! We are! We are! We are!_

_We will gather up all of our dreams_ _And go searching for our desires_ _A coin in the pocket, you wanna be my friend?_ _We are, we are, on the cruise! We are! We are! We are!"_

With the last 'we are' the lights went out. In a moment they were back up and Harmony was gone. The crowd exploded with applause, whistles and cheers. Sanji remained pressed against the wall as the lights came up and the patrons filed out. His eyes were hidden by hair. No one paid attention to the tears streaming down his cheeks.


	2. The Bearer of Good News

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Two - The Bearer of Good News**

Hours later, Harmony had changed out of her dress and into a more comfortable short-sleeved shirt and long black skirt. Her hair was down and nearly reached her knees. She emerged from a private door and approached the smallest bar in the Sea Note, the Nautilus. It was well hidden inside the sprawling casino and mostly populated by employees after their shifts were over. Harmony gravitated to the bar and sat on the leftmost of the stools.

"Island Hopping Gargle Blaster," she said to the bartender, a tall, thin man with a comical handlebar mustache. "Make it a double."

He leaned over the bar and looked at her funny. "That's not 'the usual'," he said quietly. "You sure?"

She nodded. "I need it. Humor me, Opus."

Opus shrugged. "Yes Ma'am. Not like you gotta drive home, right?" He dug around for a good lemon and started the elaborate and intense shot. Harmony sighed and played with a cocktail napkin, oblivious to the sidelong stare of the blond man at the other end of the bar. "Ha-chan, did you really know him?" Opus asked quietly. "The Pirate King?"

"I only knew him for two weeks."

"He must have been a hell of a fella for you to fall in love with him."

"He saved my life, but it wasn't him I was in love with," she said quietly. Opus handed her the Gargle Blaster. The man at the other end straightened up and put his drink down.

"Holy crap!" a loud, brash voice said in greeting. "Harmony, what the hell're you drinkin'!"

She looked up to her left at an impressive looking merman with blue and yellow striped skin. "Hello, Bravo."

"You lookin' to have some fun tonight?" he asked, adjusting his bow tie. "I can make you forget that guy."

"I will never forget that guy," she said. Harmony stopped playing with the napkin and started playing with the drink she only half-intended to consume. "Nor do I care to."

"Aw, come on, Harmony!" he whined. "You ain't usually so down! I just wanna show you a good time!"

She twisted a plain, metal ring around her right middle finger. "I appreciate that, Bravo. You're a good man, but, I'm sorry."

"Come on," he insisted and grasped her arm. "Let me help you."

Harmony took a deep breath and slid the ring off of her finger. She placed it on the bar and slid it as far away from herself as she could without standing up. The bartender took a step back. "I'm sorry, Bravo," Harmony said and looked up at him. Her voice seemed to resonate from the glasses in their racks hanging over the bar. "_Please go out and have a good time without me."_

Bravo let her go. His body twisted about face and his feet marched him out of the bar. "Then I guess I'll see you later!" he called, his voice trailing off around the corner.

"Been a while since I seen you use _the voice_ on a guy," Opus commented, relaxing as she put her kairouseki ring back on. "Too bad Bravo's dumber than a box a rocks. He's not a bad guy." Harmony smiled at him. "There, that's better. I know it hurts now, but you gotta keep smiling, Ha-chan."

"I'm trying, Opus." Harmony looked to her drink. She made a face and handed it back to him. He breathed a sigh of relief and dumped it out for her. "I'll try harder." The man at the end of the bar lit a cigarette. Harmony caught a whiff of the sulfur and tobacco and sighed.

"I think I can help," the cigarette smoker said. Opus rolled his eyes, ready to watch another hapless suitor get a 'talking to' from the Akuma no Mi user. Harmony turned her head and looked to her right. His black suit and shock of blond hair covering the left side of his face was unmistakable. "I have some good news that will make you _very_ happy," he said, rested his cigarette in an ashtray and stood.

Harmony blinked at him as if she didn't believe her eyes.

"You know this guy, Ha-chan?" Opus asked, wary of crazy fans.

"Sa… Sanji-san!" she cried.

"What! You mean, this is _the chef_!" Opus nearly dropped the drink he was fixing.

Sanji smiled. "That's me. I'm sorry I didn't call you. If I had known how much you would suffer…"

"You mean…?"

"He's safe as houses," he said quietly. Before he could speak again she lunged at him.

"Thank God!" she cheered and hugged him tightly.

"Looks like that did the trick," Opus commented and turned his attention to other customers.

It was a few moments before Harmony realized her hug wasn't being returned. She took her arms from around his shoulders and stepped back. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." She blushed.

"I think I do. It's happening to me, too," he said and swallowed. "All the way here I was dreading seeing you. I didn't know how I'd react to seeing you again now that you've grown. Usually, I'm a little… overzealous when it comes to the weaker sex. But around you, I've always felt nervous."

Harmony pouted. "You mean… you don't like me?"

Sanji laughed. "I might as well get it over with, else I feel I might pass out any minute," he said and looked into her large, green eyes. "When we met, you were just a child, but you've become a beautiful young woman. I…" Sanji swallowed again. "Usually when I see a girl I like, I go crazy. It comes naturally. I can't help it. But with you, even now, I'm shaking. My blood is running hot and cold. My hair is standing on end. What I had thought was a _negative_ reaction, I understand now." He took her hands in his. "Ojou-sama… Harmony. Am I to assume that I am '_the chef' _the bartender recognized? Have you really not forgotten about me?"

Harmony's eyes widened but she didn't answer. She nodded rapidly, her tanned face turning an interesting shade of fuchsia. She squeezed his hands and tried to think of what to say. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She laughed and shook her head, standing up on her toes to kiss him. Sanji held his breath and kissed her back, but before he could wrap her up into an embrace, she stepped back, grinning from ear to ear. Harmony Sairen, unable to form her feelings into words, began to sing.


	3. The Casino Sea Note

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Three - The Casino Sea Note**

The Sea Note was impressive, even in the glitzy luxury-overload that was Largo Atoll. Harmony toured Sanji through its halls, giving him a general feel for the place. She explained to him that after the G-Clef was burned, she and her former employer Kerodo Clef returned to Largo and pooled their resources. Clef had assets in the form of 150 bouncers, experienced and loyal table managers and hotel staff. Harmony had been saving up for the last year and together they built a new and better casino with an emphasis on every aspect of entertainment.

The Sea Note featured the biggest theater inside a casino, seating over 1,000 people in order to accommodate the legion of Harmony's fans. Two smaller theaters accommodated 500 each. The hotel was designed with seven stories and over 700 rooms. The upper floor was reserved for Clef and Harmony who had penthouse suites at either end of the hall with private elevators inaccessible by the public.

Sanji and Harmony came down the elevator and wound around to the three restaurants: a buffet, a family-style and a gourmet restaurant. Sanji was very quiet when they toured the kitchens and dining areas. They returned to Harmony's rooms and his silence was more than noticeable.

"Is something wrong?" Harmony asked.

He looked up and scratched his chin. "The restaurants," he began. "What are they rated?"

She smiled and crossed to a china cabinet. "Well, the Three Brothers' Buffet and Paro's Family Restaurant are unrated." She took a small dish from the cabinet and put it on the coffee table in front of him. He thanked her and took out his cigarettes. "But Symphony _is_ rated…" Sanji looked up at her, pausing in packing the smokes down. He cocked his curly brow, waiting for the number. "Two," she said, wincing as he nearly crushed the pack. "I know, it's unforgivable. I've been so busy that I just haven't had the time to improve it…" Harmony put her hands on her hips. "But now that I have you, I know that will change."

Sanji lit a cigarette and took a drag before looking up at her. He knew that without a crew he couldn't resume his quest to seek out All Blue. All he knew how to do was cook and here was a beautiful young woman offering him the chance to be head chef of restaurants that desperately needed his help. He stood, went to the large window that looked out over the strip below. Largo's lights were just coming on in the early evening. He remembered the amazing marketplace that he had visited four years ago when the Strawhats first visited the atoll. "Are you married to the name 'Symphony'?" he asked, turning and grinning at her.

Harmony grinned back. She had her chef.

**.x.**

Within the week Sanji had scared off half of Symphony's staff with his unusual Baratie-inspired managerial style. He hired men and women he recruited from the market place and other rival restaurants. The revitalized crew was confident they'd increase the restaurant's rating within the month and invited the critics to come whenever they pleased. With rare and exotic ingredients from the market and Sanji's expertise of creating amazing dishes from whatever he stumbled across on his travels as a Strawhat pirate, the critics were delighted and Symphony was given four stars - double what it had before. Harmony was astounded, but she had to laugh at the fact that Sanji was disappointed that they didn't get five.

**.x.**

Sanji's room was a floor below Harmony's in the public part of the hotel. He had a key to the private elevator that lead to Clef and Harmony's floor. He used it one early afternoon before he had to go open Symphony for the evening and went up to see Harmony. When the doors opened, two large frog bouncers were waiting to go down. The one on the left jumped a little at the sight of the shorter, blond man. Sanji raised a brow before realizing what must have startled him.

"Heh," he scoffed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry 'bout that, pal," he said, apologizing for the incident four years prior when he had beaten up a good many of such bouncers in order to help Harmony escape them.

The bouncer watched him until he was out of sight then sighed and followed his partner into the elevator. Memories of when he had first caught sight of Harmony flooded in as Sanji made his way down the hall toward her apartment. She was only 13 then. She was still young. He felt very old. At 23 he had traveled further and suffered more injuries than most pirates did in a lifetime. His spontaneous carreer in piracy now over, Sanji had returned to the profession he was raised for. He loved his kitchens. He loved his staff (however much they pissed him off sometimes). He was well-dressed, had a nice, large room to call home and a very decent salary.

"Who could ask for anything more…" he muttered, frowned and slowed his pace.

Harmony.

When he arrived and gave her the good news about Luffy's survival she had kissed him and hugged him so tightly it bruised his ribs but since that day she had been oddly distant. They spent a good deal of time together, but she rarely sat at his side, rarely looked into his eyes for more than a second as if she were embarrassed or afraid of him.

Sanji stopped just feet from her door, turned and headed slowly back to his room. He mulled over every time he'd been in the same room as Harmony for the last few months. Sure enough, each occasion was the same. He put the key in the private elevator's call button and the doors opened. He glided in, spun and leaned against the far wall. He really wanted to light a cigarette, but there was no smoking in the elevators.

"Maybe she's just finally gotten to know me after fantasizing about me for four years," he thought aloud. "And she's realized that I'm not who she's made me out to be." The doors opened on his floor. "And she doesn't want me," he said, his head resting against the wall. "Like I want her." He pushed off from the wall, surprised to see the same two frog bouncers blocking his path, waiting for the elevator. Sanji stared at them for a beat. "Move it, or you're an entrée," he growled. The men side-stepped to the left and right respectively and tried not to even breathe.

When Sanji had disappeared into his room the bouncer who hadn't soiled himself turned to his co-worker. "Man, what did _we_ do!" he croaked.

**.x.**

A few days later Sanji knocked and waited for Harmony's maid to let him into her luxury apartment. There was a large foyer that opened into the living room, replete with plush couches and a fully stocked bar. The large picture windows to the left looked out on the lagoon. Harmony was standing at the china cabinet when he entered.

"Sanji," she said very seriously, skipping the greeting. "Would you do me a favor?"

"Anything, Ojou-sama," he said with a bow, wondering what was going on and only a little afraid that he was in trouble for something.

"Come on vacation with me."

He blinked and laughed. "Is _that_ all!"

She took something out of the cabinet, sat down on one of the couches and bid him do the same. "It might be a long while, since I'm not entirely sure where we're going." The something was a velvet bag tied with a satin drawstring.

"What do you mean?" he asked, taking a seat. She opened the velvet bag, removed an eternal pose and handed it to him. "Sofserv?" he read the nameplate. The pose had a worn wooden frame and the glass was old and hand-blown. The needle pointed southwest.

Harmony nodded. "I bought it at the market today. I saw a strange shop in the marketplace I'd not seen before…"


	4. Eternal Pose

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Four - Eternal Pose**

**.x.Flashback.x.**

It was late morning when Harmony went for a walk along the marketplace. She wore her hair in a braid, wrapped into a loose bun. That and her curly bangs were pinned back. Her clothes were much more casual than the long skirts and crisp cotton blouses she usually sported. The celebrity successfully blended in with the crowd of locals and tourists. She strolled from stall to stall, enjoying the calm weather and happy din of shoppers and barkers calling them to their wares.

Just after a booth with a particularly noisy gentleman selling gaudy necklaces supposedly made from dinosaur bones was an oddities booth. The front of it had items on display on the left and right with a surly looking man guarding the merchandise but not barking like the other men around him. Beyond him was a small tent covered in yellow, orange and red textiles. In the gap between them a man wearing dark sunglasses could be seen sitting behind a counter. Intrigued, Harmony browsed the front section and made her way past the intimidating guard to the inner sanctum.

The tent smelled of frankincense and was cluttered with object-d'art, jewelry, and oddities from exotic lands. The man behind the counter was a wooly sort of man with bushy black hair. He wore clothes that appeared too heavy for the pleasant temperature. "How can I help you, Young Miss?" he asked, puffing on a pipe whose smoke smelled almost like the incense that curled out of a brass burner to his left.

"I don't know," she admitted, looking at the items on a shelf behind him. "Oh, neat." Harmony pointed at one of the shelves. "Are those vintage Log Poses or something?"

"Something like that," he said pulling one down for her to inspect. It was in a soft wooden casing and marked 'Blunjet'. "I specialize in Eternal Poses for hard-to-find islands."

Harmony's eyes lit up. "Really? Would you happen to have a pose for an island called Sofserv?"

The wooly man's sunglasses slipped down his nose a bit revealing yellowish eyes with small black pupils. "Sofserv?" he repeated. The guard turned and stared at the young woman as well. "Why are you looking for such a rare item?"

Harmony felt the men's eyes piercing her. "I know it sounds odd, but I was born there."

"_Sure_ you were," he said and reached behind him again. "No harm in letting you look at it, I suppose." He took an ivory box down from the shelf and reached into his clothes, pulling out a large ring of keys. He unlocked the box and extracted a velvet bag from which he produced an eternal pose. It was wooden and worn and bore a brass name-plate reading 'Sofserv'.

Harmony reached out slowly and examined the pose. "How much?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, Young Miss. It's beyond your means." The wooly man reached out to take it from her. "This is perhaps the only existing Eternal Pose for this island for sale anywhere in the world."

Harmony looked up and removed a small, plain ring from her finger and put it on the counter. "_Please tell me how much for this pose_," she said using her Yobu-yobu no Mi powers. The glass wind chimes above her head tinkled quietly with the reverberation.

"Five thousand Berrie," the shop owner answered as he was commanded.

"Do you have a denden mushi I could use?" She asked, slipping the ring back on. He nodded, a bit confused as to what just happened to him but he complied. Harmony picked up the mouthpiece and waited for the operator. "Yes, get me Kerodo Clef at the Casino Sea Note, please. This is Harmony." Her name meant nothing to the foreigner. She cupped her hand over the device. "What number is this stall?"

"Uh, five-ninty-six," the stall owner answered.

Harmony nodded. "Clef. It's Harmony. Is Bravo working right now? Great. Send him down to the market, stall number five-nine-six with five, no, six thousand Berrie."

"You bought me a present!" Clef's voice issued sarcastically out of the denden mushi.

"Ha ha," she snarked back. "Out of _my_ account, please."

"You got it, Princess," Clef said affectionately. He could be heard calling for the bouncer named Bravo before the receiver hung up.

Harmony raised her brows at the wooly man. "I'll stay right here until Bravo arrives, just to make sure no one else takes my pose."

**.x.End Flashback.x.**

Sanji laughed at her description of the events that led to her purchasing the eternal pose. "Now that's a great use for your powers! I would have told the guy to give it to me for free!" She swatted at him and took the pose back.

"I never dreamed that I would be able to visit my home island ever again."

"You couldn't find it with a Log Pose?" he asked, crushing out his cigarette.

Harmony shook her head. "Sofserv is so small, the larger islands around it pull the log pose away from it. People only find it by accident, even if they're looking for it!"

"How small?"

She smiled, recalling her home. "So small there were only 20 people allowed to live on the island at a time."

"So when you were born…?"

"I was actually number 21," she said, her smile fading a little. "My mother died when she had me."

"I'm sorry…" he said softly.

"It's ok. I never knew her. My father was shipwrecked on the island and married the village elder's daughter. The inhabitants knew that eventually the balance would be shifted. They had never had a problem with the population before, so they weren't worried. Everything comes back to the Balance," she said.

Sanji scratched his head. "Sounds like an interesting place. I can't wait to check it out."

She beamed at him. "I can't wait to show it to you! The tropical paradise of Sofserv!"

_More to come…_


	5. Rupert Krähe and the Palast Orchestra

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Five - Rupert Krähe and the Palast Orchestra**

_Note: Based loosely on Max Raabe and Palast Orchester who I saw live at Carnegie Hall last year and was the best live musical performance I've ever seen.-aks_

**.x.**

The topmost floor of the Casino Sea Note's hotel was bustling the day before Sanji and Harmony were to leave for vacation. Sanji's assistants fretted at him even as the doors to the elevator closed behind him. "Relax," he purred. "I have full confidence in you." The doors shut and he straightened his tie. "And if the place is shambles when I get back, I'll kill you all." He was certain that they knew that very well.

Sanji dodged a legion of assistants in the hallway and made his way to Harmony's apartment. "Miss Sairen, you can't possibly be thinking that The Looney Gen Band is good enough to…" the blue-haired MC rearranged a pile of papers he was clutching and sort of danced from one foot to the other as if the floor was too hot to stand on.

"Rubato, please do calm down," she said calmly as she signed something another assistant handed to her. "Gen-san will be playing where he usually does. I've brought in reinforcements to fill in for me on the main stage." Sanji smirked at the cool way she handled the chaos and seated himself on one of the sofas.

"Miss Harmony," her maid interrupted, "Mister Krähe is here."

As if on cue, Krähe practically floated in behind the maid. "Miss Sairen, it is indeed a pleasure," he drawled with a thick, rolling sort of accent Sanji couldn't quite place.

"Rupert Krähe!" she cried, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, it's wonderful to finally meet you!" Sanji felt his toes curl up in his shoes as the young woman rushed around the flock of assistants and clasped the man's hand.

Krähe was about 40, of average height, and had piercing blue eyes. His cheekbones were high and he held his head of slicked-back fair hair high. He wore a suit, like Sanji did every day, but of incredibly high quality and old-fashioned style. He took Harmony's hand and kissed it. Sanji's toes cracked as they flexed in his shoes with the urge to kick the stranger out of the picture windows to his left and into the great blue yonder.

"Sanji, this is my fill-in, Rupert Krähe of the Palast Orchestra. Rupert, this is our head chef, Sanji."

Krähe raised a brow at the blond on the sofa who stood slowly and pretended not to size him up. "Yo," he grunted as he took his hand. Both men squeezed hands, hard. Harmony was oblivious to the gesture.

"Rupert is the leader of the orchestra. What is it these days, 20 pieces?"

"Twenty three," he corrected, rolling every 'r'. "We've added two more violinists and a guitar player."

"Oh how wonderful! Sanji, you wouldn't believe their sound." Her attention swung back to the visitor before he got a chance to comment. "I'm so glad you could come and help me out!"

She led Krähe out of the apartment to help him settle his orchestra into the theater, assistants flowing in her wake, leaving Sanji alone. He lit a cigarette and sighed. "Ugh," he groaned. "When do we leave?" Then he remembered, he was going away on vacation with her for god-knows how long and this Krähe person would be in Largo all alone. Sanji smirked.

**.x.**

A sturdy ship with plenty of supplies for a long voyage, a crew of frog-man sailors, two passenger and a mysterious overgrown music box departed from Largo Atoll one Saturday morning and began its bee-line course southwest, following the direction of an antique Eternal Pose. Sanji stood on the prow and breathed in the spray. It had been six months since last he sailed. Having grown up on a floating restaurant and sailing with pirates all his adult life, he wondered at why being on land for so long didn't faze him. Then Harmony joined him and stood by his side. '_Oh yeah, right,'_ he thought and grinned. "You really have no idea how far Sofserv is from Largo?"

She shook her head. "When I left, I was eight years old and my father was trying to flee from people who were chasing him. I'm not even sure we went directly from there to here. It could be as long as a month's voyage, I think."

'_Two whole months alone with her and without that snotty orchestra leader,' _he thought smugly. "So why didn't you want Mokuhana Gen to play the main stage?" he asked, following his train of thought. "I like Gen. His music is fun."

"He's a bit much for the audience that's used to listening to me," she replied, making a face.

"A bit too racy, eh?" he agreed, lighting a cigarette. "Too bad. He really wanted to fill in."

"I know and he tries so hard, but his efforts have not gone unnoticed." Harmony put her hands on the rail and looked out at the horizon in front of her. "Clef and I have been talking…"

"Oh?" Sanji asked a little upset that she hadn't told him she was discussing the venue's future with her co-owner.

"You know how the Platinum Lounge next door isn't doing so well competing with us lately? They're thinking of selling and I'm thinking of buying."

"Blah, what would you want with a dump like that?" Sanji remembered his one visit to the casino next door and how filthy the bathrooms had been.

"Oh, we'd tear it apart, might even level it and just expand, but the point is I'd have a couple more theatres to play with. Clef wants more casino floor space and some more rooms for the hotel, but I want a really good, large theatre for another big-draw act."

"The Looney Gen Band?"

"You got it."

"Oh man, he's gonna flip out when he hears that!" Sanji cried.

"That's why it's really important not to tell him until the deal is done. I don't want to get his hopes up." Harmony's sea-green eyes stayed fixed on the horizon. He admired her openly, watching her pink hair lilt in the strong breeze, the way her sleeveless dress hung off her hips. His heart ached. Except for the first day he had arrived on Largo she had not shown him any affection whatsoever, as if he was simply another business partner. Finally, she looked up at him with a strange anxious twist in her eyes. "I can't wait to go home," she whispered. All he could do was nod then wander off to lose himself in preparing lunch.

_More to come…_


	6. The Looney Gen Band

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Six - The Looney Gen Band**

_Note: Based not-so-loosely on the Crazy Ken Band which rocks my socks.-aks_

The second stage at the Sea Note only seated about 500. The Looney Gen Band played at 7:30 and 10:30 every night with a well-tuned performance of what they called "Rock N' Lounge" music. Both shows were usually packed and one had to arrive very early to get a good table close to the stage. Tonight, before the 10:30 show, some patrons grumbled that one of the smaller tables directly in front was roped off with a 'reserved' sign on it.

The band's leader Mokuhana Gen paced back and forth in the green room. Seven other band members all seemed to twitch with nervous energy, more so than for an average performance. They were dressed for the show in an array of strange styles, some with top hats and tails, some with fishnet and leather, some with sequins and silk. The eighth member arrived and all heads turned his way.

"Is he here yet?" Gen asked in his growling smoker's voice.

"Not yet, boss."

"Damn it! This tension is killing me!" he cried and smoothed back his greased-down black hair again. He wore large sunglasses and a white suit. His hands were adorned with large, gaudy rings. He tapped a wing-tip shoe rapidly before pacing again. "It's like Aniki is trying to make me _crazy_!"

"It's ok, boss. He'll come! The letter's got to be real!" his pair of girl singers reassured him in unison.

Gen pulled a crumpled, dirty piece of paper out of his pristine white suit and read the large, simple words again. "_Guys._ _Heard you're in a band. Coming to check it out 15th May. Better be Super! F." _Gen cracked his neck. "Well. You heard the man. Let's do this."

The rest of the Looney Gen Band cheered in agreement and took their places. As the curtain went up, each member felt their hearts skip a beat. Seated in the front row was a large man wearing nothing but a Hawaiian print shirt and Speedos. He had his massive arms folded across his chest and a pair of sunglasses perched on top of a tall, blue pompadour. They resisted the urge to shout 'Aniki!' at the top of their lungs. Instead, as they began to play the introduction for the first song in the set, Gen grasped his microphone and stared at his former superior. "This set is for Franky," he said quickly and began to sing. Franky grinned and nodded his approval.

_V.F.W no Jackie ou yuushuu na mekanyaa_

_Gangster! Drugster! and Beach Rider!_

_Rokujuuyon_ _nen no Inpara kai wait a minute sold out shock!_

_Nanajuuni_ _nen no Ribiera kai wait a minute sold out shock!_

_Gojuuroku_ _nen no Beruea kai wait a minute sold out shock!_

_Rokujuugo_ _nen no Masutangu wait a minute ... for sale!_

_- Yokoyama Ken, 2005_

About halfway through the show, Franky had consumed many colas and his vocal enthusiasm was wearing on the crowd. A group of bouncers hovered at the entrance, waiting for an excuse to eject the rowdy patron, but because he wasn't intoxicated, they could do nothing but watch. Soon enough, the show was over and the band milled around in the greenroom waiting for Franky to arrive. When he did, he threw the door open with a bang and cried out a tearful greeting to his friends. It was very loud in the little room for a long time before they composed themselves and went to the bar to talk.

Despite it being very late, there were still a few patrons hanging around the mostly staff-only Nautilus. They found a table near the bar and the nine of them gathered around to tell stories and catch up on what was going on with the rest of the Franky Family.

"Ah, that's so good to hear," Gen commented when he heard that Zambai had taken a job with Galley-La. "I mean, years ago I wouldn't have believed you if you told me that, but that's just great."

"Aniki, how did you escape Enies Lobby?" Kiwi, who was seated on Franky's right leg asked. Her sister Mozu, seated on the right, nodded.

"Ah, well first of all if the Stawhats hadn't busted up the place I woulda never gotten outta there," he said. To his left, Opus the bartender's ears perked up. "But it was this weird little old man who busted me out. I dunno where he came from but all he asked in return was I help him save Nico Robin."

"She was executed, I heard," Gen said.

"Nah, you kiddin'? I saved her. I owed this little guy. He showed me where she was being taken an' I clobbered the guys who were taking her away." He took a swig from a pitcher of cola. "Then he lets her outta the cuffs and allasudden this little guy stabs her with a needle and she goes down! I was like woah! Whaddayadoin'! He said it just knocked her out so he could stash her somewhere and he'd come back and save her later when the coast was clear."

"So she's alive?"

"I guess so. Never saw her again, though. Shame 'specially since that Strawhat kid was executed. If I'd been there I woulda busted him out, too. Good kid. Damn shame."

They all nodded and had a moment of silence before going back to their regaling. Opus made himself look busy cleaning glasses but made a mental note to tell his friend the chef about his former nakama.

_More to come…_


	7. Vacation Home

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Seven - Vacation Home**

After three weeks at sea Sanji and Harmony had become fierce game players. Everything from cards to dominos to Mah Jongg had been mastered to ease the tension between them. One early evening after dinner Harmony looked over the 13 Mah Jongg tiles standing up in front of her and bit her lip. "If I play _this_ hand I'll eat a ton of points," she muttered. "If I play _that_ hand I'll be totally screwed because _you have all the damn green dragons_!"

"Do not," Sanji lied. Four green dragon tiles and an almost full hand of winds were standing up in front of him.

"Sanji, there's none out," she said indicating to the discarded tiles. "And there's only a little bit of wall left. You have them. I'm screwed."

"You never know," he said calmly. '_I'm so totally going to own you,'_ he thought.

Harmony picked up another tile. "North Wind," she called and discarded the tile.

"Mah Jongg."

"Ahhh!" She leapt up and pointed at him as he turned his hand around for her to approve of. "See! You _did_ have all the damn green dragons!"

He shrugged. "Best six out of ten?" Harmony narrowed her eyes. Many of their games ended this way with a tense competition between them. Whichever one lost was always sore about it. In moments she would screw her mouth up into a tight pout and make for the other end of the ship to cool off. However, this pattern was interrupted tonight by the call of 'Land Ho!' coming from one of the frog-man sailors. Harmony's expression changed instantly and she gave Sanji an excited smile before running out to see for herself.

When he finally arrived at the bow, Harmony was leaning against the side, staring through binoculars at a small, greenish conical island in the distance. "Sofserv!" she shouted. "I'm sure of it!" She turned to him and hugged him tightly. "Isn't this great!"  
Relieved that they had finally reached their destination and that she was showing him affection again, Sanji simply nodded and gave her a quick squeeze back before she ran off to her room to make herself ready for arrival.

**.x.**

As it got closer to shore their ship started following a strong current to the south east, curving away from the island. "Be careful!" Harmony shouted to the fish-men as they wrestled with the rigging. "The current wraps around the island. You need to press hard to port!"

Finally, the ship anchored safely and Sanji and Harmony disembarked. As the dingy touched the beach Harmony leapt out and splashed through the waves with her skirt pulled up. Sanji secured the boat carefully and followed his impatient friend up the beachhead and into the thick jungle before them. In the near distance a mountain that looked more like an eccentric hairdo spiraled up from the canopy.

"Weird mountain," he muttered. "Weird current. No wonder no one can find this place. Even if they got close to it, if they didn't know what they were in for they'd just keep going."

"Come on!" Harmony shouted, waving for him to catch up.

The trees started clearing out about five hundred feet from the beach and small huts could be seen here and there off of the path they were treading. Harmony walked quickly, stumbling in her high heeled shoes in her urgency. Sanji was beginning to wonder how it could possibly be that this city-fied young woman could have grown up in a hut. Finally they reached what looked like the village center. Some buildings appeared to be fairly normal but most had thatched roofs and bamboo construction. There was a large building on a bit of a rise to the west, a schoolhouse to the east and what looked like a few more houses and huts spread around the clearing.

There wasn't a soul in sight. Harmony's shoulders drooped.

With the sun setting and darkness approaching Sanji started to get a bad feeling about his friend's home. Had they all left? It didn't look as if it had been abandoned very long ago if so. Then he heard something rustling to his right. "Harmony," he whispered. "I think they're hiding."

She perked back up. "Of course!" she shouted. "Weda! Rebecca! Clive-sensei! Dama-obaachan! It's me, Harmony!"

A wave of voices came to life around the small town. "Harmony-chan!" an older woman's voice shrieked. A woman with skin a bit darker than Harmony's and a large head of kinky brown hair raced from one of the buildings, followed by nineteen other people – the inhabitants of Sofserv.

"Dama-obaachan!" Harmony cried back and let the woman pick her up and spin her around, cooing and crying over her in joy.

As night fell everyone gathered at the largest building in town, a sort of community meeting place. Sanji could feel the eyes of the villagers checking the stranger out. Each inhabitant gave the prodigal daughter a hug and talked with her briefly. About half of them were adults old enough to be her parents or grandparents. Sanji kept a close eye on the younger males as they interacted with Harmony. The only one that made his toes curl was a shy, young, blue-haired man who politely bowed to her.

"Hare!" she cried and hugged him tightly. "Wow, I would have never recognized you!"

"Well, I was _eleven_ when you saw me last," he chuckled.

When the rest of the villagers had gone home for the evening, Sanji and Harmony sat on the reed-mat floor and formally met with Dama, the village elder and Harmony's mother's mother.

"Where is Richard?" Dama asked her granddaughter.

Harmony made a sad face. "He's been gone for a long time," she said, hiding the truth for now.

Dama shook her head and gave her condolences. "And who is this…?" she asked, her head turning slowly toward Sanji.

"This is Sanji," Harmony said. "He's a five-star gourmet chef who works for me at the hotel I own. He's also a great fighter and a former pirate of great renown!"

The cigarette Sanji had just put in his mouth hung loosely. "Uh, yeah. That's me." He gave the older woman a sheepish smile. "A pleasure to meet you, Dama-san."

The village elder's mouth curled up into a tight smile. "What a nice young man."

'_Ok, when we left Largo I was 'head chef, Sanji','_ he thought, remembering with a shudder the acerbic orchestra leader he had been introduced to. '_Now I'm 'five star gourmet fighting pirate chef, Sanji'.' _He hid the face he was making behind his hand as he lit the cigarette. "I should go and make sure the guys have the ship secured for the night. We sort of left in a hurry," he said with a smile as he stood. "I'll be back."

When he had gone Dama raised a brow at her granddaughter. "Now," the old woman began, puffing on a pipe. "Did you really dig up an Eternal Pose to come all the way here just to get my approval on this young man?"

Harmony blushed bright red. "I stumbled upon the pose, and I've always wanted to come home to visit, but yes. I did," she admitted and bowed her head respectfully. "What do you think?"

Dama let the smoke from her pipe curl around her head a bit. "It's too early to tell," she said flatly. "Perhaps in a week I'll know better."

The shocked expression didn't last long on Harmony's face. She realized that Dama didn't disapprove, but wanted them to stay for a while before she gave her blessing.

_More to come…_


	8. Sofserv’s Fine Balance

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Eight - Sofserv's Fine Balance**

The following day was declared a holiday and the twenty some-odd people on the island enjoyed music and festivities that started as early as mid-morning. Sanji watched Harmony carefully as she interacted with her old friends and family, especially the blushing blue-haired Hare. She seemed to have forgotten she even brought the chef along. His sulking didn't last long however as he spotted Rebecca and Hare's mother Weda heading his way carrying a large, earthenware jar marked 'sake'. They seemed to have already started on the brew and wobbled toward him.

"Allow me to help!" he sang and pranced toward them.

Harmony couldn't help but turn her head and watch him flirt with the older, but still beautiful women.

Hare noticed this as well and gave a relieved sigh. "And here I was worried that you two were an item!" he laughed.

"Yeah. Funny, that…" She muttered then turned her attention back to her friend with a pleasant, but false smile.

Everyone prepared for the feast to be held later in the afternoon. People gathered fruit and strange jungle animals native to the island. Sanji wobbled away from Weda and Rebecca as he heard the sound of knives being sharpened from a nearby hut. Inside, Dama was directing three men, one of whom was asleep, standing up with his head on a pillow pinned between him and the wall. One of them was prepping vegetables and the other was waiting for instruction.

"Ah, Sanji-kun, good timing," Dama said without breaking stride. "It seems Reiji has conked out on us again." She pointed to the man dozing against the wall. "Wiggle here is helping me with the vegetables but Gupta needs someone to fish with."

"No I don't," the shaggy dark haired young man argued. Dama shot him an evil glare that scared him white. "Right. Help. Need. Yes."

"I'm really most interested in your cooking techniques, Dama-san," Sanji admitted.

"And so you shall be privy to them after we have some fish. Try to get the gamut Gupta," she advised and he nodded.

"Come on. This way," Gupta motioned for Sanji to follow with a nod of his head.

They went down a path to a different beach than the one his ship was anchored on. The waves lapped awkwardly at the shore at what looked like an almost 45 degree angle. They got in a small boat and Gupta used a pole to get them about 100 feet from shore. "Gupta, why does the water do that here?" Sanji asked as he was handed a sizeable fishing pole.

Gupta threw a trap into the water and blinked as the buoy bobbed in place. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've been to like a hundred islands on the Grand Line and I've never seen the waves wash to shore in such a way." The young man shrugged. '_This is going to suck,'_ Sanji thought. Almost instantly Gupta's fishing pole twitched. Before Sanji could comment his own pole did the same. Gupta reeled in a long, blue fish with large eyes and bright yellow fins. Sanji's fish was green and silvery with thick sides and a small head. He blinked at the thing. "This is a Wave Rider," he said. "I've never seen one except in books…" Gupta threw his catch in the basket. "And that's a Wide-eye Azure fish! That's from North Blue!"

"It's from here," Gupta said, not meeting his eyes. "We're going to need more. There's a lot of hungry people waiting."

Sanji frowned, pulled out a cigarette, lit it and went back to catching fish. '_There's something weird going on here…'_ he thought. Gupta's next fish was purplish and round. "That's a Glinnis May! Native to South Blue!"

"Native to _here_," Gupta corrected him.

"Bullshit!" he cried and pulled his line out of the water. Another strange, brownish fish flipped around on the hook. "This is a Yellow Bottom Sucker from East Blue. Total crap and not worth eating, trust me," he said, freeing it and throwing it back into the ocean. "What kind of a prank are you trying to pull?"

Again, Gupta practically ignored him. He pulled the trap up. It was full of crustaceans of different sizes and shapes. Sanji's eyes boggled. He threw the cigarette into the water, kicked off his shoes and dove in.

Sure enough the water was packed with fish of so many different shapes and sizes Sanji almost choked. '_It can't be! I don't believe it!'_ he thought and bolted for the surface. "What is this place! Tell me!" he cried at the little boat now full of sea creatures for the feast.

"This is Sofserv," Gupta answered. "Come on. Dama will kill us if we're late."

Sanji grit his teeth but decided that he wasn't going to get any further with him.

**.x.**

Dama was pleased by their catch. As he had requested, she showed Sanji how she and the other helpers prepared the multitude of dishes for a festival of this sort. The chef remained fairly quiet, but his delight in cooking was obvious. Finally, the dishes were ready and Gupta, Wiggle and Reiji started taking the staggering piles of food to the feast table outside.

Dama cleaned a knife and watched her own reflection in it, stealing a glimpse at Sanji behind her as she turned it slightly. "Tell me, young man," she began. "What did you think of our waters?"

Sanji narrowed his eye and wished they were out of the kitchen so he could hide his expression behind a cigarette. "I've never seen anything like it," he answered truthfully.

"You're a five-star gourmet chef," she added. "Surely their bounty is astounding!"

His guard went up. "Surely," he said, beginning to get the idea that she was leading him on. "There are fish from every ocean calling the water around this island home."

"We're quite fond of them," she said, nodding. "Do you know why there can only be twenty humans living on this island at once, Sanji?"

He leaned against the wall Reiji had dozed against earlier. "Harmony said it had something to do with the balance, but I'm not quite sure what that means," he admitted.

Dama turned to face him, checked the edge on her knife and looked up over the rims of her glasses at him. "The balance is delicate. Between the flora and fauna, the sea and we humans, if one of us is out of balance, it is said that Sofserv will tip and fall and all will be lost. If the humans consume too much of the fauna, if the sea drowns the flora, if one of the four elements becomes too strong or weak this island cannot survive. We are very lucky to live in such a paradise and we strive to protect the balance."

Sanji grinned and pushed himself off the wall. "I understand such a thing. Having sailed on a ship at sea I know about balance. Having conditions between people, the ship and the elements in balance is crucial to a voyage's success."

She nodded. "So, Pirate Chef. Have you ever heard of All Blue?"

"I've been searching for it many years now," Sanji admitted. His heart hammered in his chest but he did his best to appear calm.

The older woman continued to play with the knife. "Then I shall tell you what I know of it. "What the world calls All Blue is shrouded in mystery. Most believe it is an ocean, an area of the sea and so most search blindly." She used the knife to draw in the air. "From the North, East, South and West strong currents flow under the calm belt and supposedly under the Red Line. Those four currents meet and churn up the seabed, spinning it around into a whelk-shell shape island so small it is impossible to locate with a log pose and therefore safe from having its fine balance disrupted." Dama's voice dropped to a near whisper. "And the inhabitants of that island will do anything to protect that balance."

Sanji's grin widened. "Just as I thought," he said and pushed off the wall. "Since I was small, I've dreamed of finding All Blue."

"To declare that you had found the legendary ocean?" Dama asked, piercing him with her glare.

He shook his head slowly. "To _experience_ a legend. Thank you, Dama-san. This party you're throwing us is more than I had ever dreamed of." Sanji waved and walked out of the kitchen, calling to another cute island girl who was helping set up.

Dama watched him go and laughed lightly to herself before sheathing the knife in a block and following him out to the festival.

_More to come…_


	9. Going Home

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Nine - Going Home**

Harmony noticed Sanji emerge and follow her childhood friend Labena like a puppy. She tried hard not to pout, but Hare finally caught on. "You're in love with him, aren't you?" he asked with a soft smile.

Harmony didn't try hide it. "Yes."

"Is he always like that?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "Want me to beat him up?" Harmony boggled. She stared at Hare for a beat before laughing. "I would!"

She made a face. "He's very strong, Hare-kun. I really wouldn't advise you think about it." Her grandmother sashayed toward them and seated herself on the ground. "I hope Sanji didn't bother you too much, Obaachan."

The village elder grinned. "Not at all. He's a fine young man."

"You mean…?" Harmony sat up straighter and clenched her fists.

"He has passed my test. I approve of him." Hare deflated. Harmony launched herself at Dama and hugged her tightly. Dama laughed and hugged her granddaughter back. "Now, let us feast!"

The celebratory feast lasted all afternoon and well into the night. Hare rolled his eyes as he noticed his mother had passed out and his father who wasn't in much better shape was having a hard time trying to carry her back to their hut. He approached Harmony who was once again watching Sanji as he hit on Labena, Mari and Rebecca. Her face was partially in shadow, the other half lit by the flickering light of a large bonfire that separated her from her chef.

"Harmony-chan?" Hare asked. "Are you going to be alright?"

She turned to him and smiled. "Yes. He's always like this. I'm used to it."

"That's not right!"

"That's the way it is. I love him. I can't help it. And I know he loves me."

"That's a hell of a way to show it," Hare grumbled.

Harmony stood and brushed dirt from her dress. "When he came back to me, he kissed me. I knew then that he was the one. My heart soared. All I could do was sing. Do you know what that feels like, Hare?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted.

She smiled wider and began to sing. Slowly, the crowd around the bonfire quieted and Harmony's voice got louder. "…_At all! Not at all. And I know by your smile it's you. Don't care for me, don't cry, let's say goodbye, Adieu. It's time to say goodbye, I know that in time it will just fade away, it's time to say goodbye."_

There was a moment of silence before Dama lead a round of applause. Hare wiped a tear from his eye. Harmony caught Sanji's eye and gave him a sad smile before excusing herself to go to bed.

**.x.**

On the last night of their week-long stay on Sofserv Harmony, Sanji and Dama sat around an oil lamp in the darkness of her livingroom and played dominos. It was a good way to waste time before sleep and still be social, but soon the tiles were forgotten and they conversed about Sanji's past with the Strawhat pirates. When he had finished his tale of adventure Dama nodded and sighed. She said that it was about time she revealed the truth to her granddaughter and the room fell silent.

"Your father was a pirate, Harmony."

She relaxed her shoulders. "Yes, I know," she answered. "He told me himself before he went away." Without having to be asked, Harmony told Dama the story of what happened to Richard Sairen. "When he took me away from here, I didn't understand why we had to go. I didn't want to leave but I didn't want to be without my father. We only got as far as Largo before whoever was chasing him caught up to us. He hid me in the hold of a ship we had stowed away in. It was still anchored. He told me to look after Vincento and he would protect me."

"Ah," Dama said. "The music box?"

Harmony nodded. "He's on the ship right now and very upset with me for having left him there all week."

Sanji stared dumbly at the two women. "Wait, what? The box talks to you?"

Harmony made a face. "Sort of. It's not words I hear, just ideas. Thoughts. Feelings. It's hard to explain."

"You never used to be able to hear it," Dama pointed out.

"No. When Father left me there in the dark and the quiet I was terrified. Then Vincento spoke to me, he comforted me. I knew then that my father must be dead." She pursed her lips then took a deep breath. "I don't really remember what happened next, but Lily Marlene took me out of the hold and back to her hotel room and made me her protégé." Harmony stretched her arms behind her back as sleep started to creep in. "I should have asked Robin-neechan more about Vincento. I think she knows a lot more about it than I do."

Sanji choked on the coffee he was drinking. He put the mug down and his brow arched with sorrow. "Ojousama," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry. I thought you knew…"

Her face blanched. "What…?"

"Robin is…" he started. "We couldn't rescue her. I'm sorry. I thought it was probably front page news alongside Luffy's execution, I figured you must have known…"

Harmony's mouth opened but no sound came out. She shook her head slightly. "It can't be…" she whispered.

Sanji closed his eyes and she got up and ran into the room she had been sleeping in. Dama lit a pipe and handed Sanji the lighter. Slowly, he took it, lit his own smoke and let out a deep breath.

"This Robin was a friend of hers?" Dama asked.

"They were close for having only known each other for two weeks."

"And she's dead."

"I'm sure of it."

Dama blew a cloud of pipe smoke at the oil lamp. It swirled as it hit the warmer air. "First her father, then the friend she told me about in Largo who she inadvertently killed with her Akuma no Mi ability now this. She's too young to have lost so many friends." She took another drag and hummed for a minute or so before speaking again. "Take care of her, Sanji-kun."

Sanji nodded in agreement. It would be a long ride home.

_More to come…_


	10. Help From An Old Flame

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

By Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Ten - Help From An Old Flame**

Harmony said a long goodbye to her friends on Sofserv and promised to return every year now that she had an eternal pose to guide her. She and Sanji boarded their yacht and set sail for Largo. Since the night before, they had exchanged but a few words. Harmony went to her cabin and closed the door and didn't emerge until long after sunset.

When she did she was surprised to find Sanji sitting in a chair in the galley drumming his fingers on a pack of unopened cigarettes. He looked up as he heard her come in and smiled. The only food on the table was a bowl of grapes. Harmony pouted lightly and sat across from him. She plucked at the grapes. Sanji tucked the pack of smokes into his breast pocket and went to the refrigerator where he retrieved all the food he had prepared while she was moping in her cabin.

Harmony stared at the bowls of pasta salad, cold gazpacho soup, tiny watercress and ham salad sandwiches and more and tried not to inhale them. When she had finished Sanji quietly put the leftovers away and did the dishes by himself. She remained at the table. "Oujousama," he said softly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Robin. I really didn't even think of it."_ 'Please don't be mad at me!'_

_'Oujousama…'_ she thought. _'He still thinks I'm just a little girl…' _"It's ok. It was just such a shock. She was a sweet woman." She rubbed her hands together. _'I'm such a fool!'_ "I'm going to turn in. Thank you for dinner."

_'She's still mad.'_ Sanji waved without turning away from his dishes and she left the galley._ 'And disappointed in me…'_ He breathed a long sigh, finished up and went out to have a smoke.

It was a long ride home.

**.x.**

After a long while on the peace and quiet of the sea, Largo seemed twice as loud and vibrant in contrast. Only moments after putting their bags in their rooms both Sanji and Harmony were back to work, reorganizing things that had gone out of whack while they were away. As Sanji made his way toward his restaurants, cracking his knuckles in expectation of the disaster area he was sure he'd find he passed Clef who waddled as fast as he could down the hall. "Princess, Princess!" he cried. Sanji turned his head and saw Harmony only a few yards behind him. "Meeting! Right now!" he took her hand and started pulling in the direction he'd come from.

"What's the matter?"

"Those morons from the Camelot are honin' in on the Platinum Lounge. We gotta talk if we're gonna decide to out bid 'em or not!"

"Oh dear," she pouted and followed him, not looking up at Sanji at all as she passed.

Sanji slumped his shoulders. _'Like I'm not even here…'_ he thought glumly.

**.x.**

After a rousing session of letting his underlings in all three kitchens get a piece of his mind about the state he found them in, Sanji meandered toward Harmony's main theater. The sounds of the orchestra tuning up as they rehearsed in the early afternoon between shows greeted his ears before he opened the doors. In a moment, he wished he had stayed in the kitchen. On stage, Rupert Krähe was kissing Harmony's hand. She giggled and thanked him for filling in for her. "Well at least he's out of here, now," Sanji grumbled as he approached the stage.

"And how fortunate that you can stay till the end of the month!" Harmony chimed. "I'm going to be very busy with this new business deal."

"I am delighted to be able to assist you," Krähe said with his strange, rolling accent. "I've got to tell you, although we miss our dear Palast enormously, playing for the ever-changing audience here in Largo has been such a treat."

Sanji grit his teeth. _'Gag me,'_ he thought. "Ojousama?" he asked as he reached the lip of the stage. "Can I go check out the kitchens at the new place?"

Harmony glanced down at him. "The deal's not final yet, Sanji."

"I know, but I want to get an idea of what I'm in for. I assume I'll be in charge of their restaurants as well?"

"Oh, sure. Go for it," she said casually and turned her attention back to the handsome man in the tweed vest and khaki pants. "Mr. Krähe, I'd like to propose something to you…"

Sanji turned on his heel and marched out of the theater, not slowing his pace until he'd left the Sea Note. The late afternoon sun glinted off of the mirrored glass of buildings around him. People's voices chattered like birds along the busy street. He lit a cigarette and looked up at the marquis for a moment before going into the Platinum Lounge, one door down.

**.x.**

The casino next door was fairly unimpressive in comparison to the neat, tidy and new Sea Note. The carpets were an unattractive brownish color. In the middle of the lobby stood a huge, overgrown indoor aviary which was fairly spectacular, but detracted from the gambling floor behind it. Sanji shook his head. "I've been in this business for what, three months and already I'm thinking like a pro."

He wandered through the gaming floor around outdated slot machines and yards and yards of more of that awful brown carpet until he found the Platinum Lounge's largest restaurant. "The Nugget," Sanji scrunched up his nose as he read the sign. "Lovely." The maître d'hôtel was busy assisting a group of old ladies so Sanji slid right past them and headed for the swinging double doors.

Inside the kitchen which was gearing up for the dinner rush Sanji easily wove his way around frantic sous-chefs and wait staff as he examined the Nugget's inner workings. He was an intruder, but not really intruding, so no one bothered with him until a shrill voice shouted "Just _what_ do you think you're _doing_!" Sanji stopped and pivoted toward the voice on the heel of his left foot. Standing with her fists on her hips was a beautiful older woman in a fancy burgundy colored velvet dress. Her hair was almost the same color and curled up and away from her angular face. "Get out of my kitchen!" she barked.

"Ah! What beauty!" Sanji cooed, darted toward her and went down on one knee. "What am I doing? Why, in the presence of one so ravishing I…" He didn't get the rest of his compliments out before being smashed soundly on the head with a large, oven-safe frying pan.

The head chef folded her arms, not relinquishing her bludgeoning implement and glared down at the impertinent man before her. "Oho," she purred raising a brow. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

Sanji recovered and rubbed the sizable lump on his head. "Perhaps in the marketplace? I'm not sure, because I would have remembered seeing such a breathtaking…"

She held the frying pan up to swat at him again. "Wait. Yes. I have seen you before. You're that boy I…" She pursed her lips and looked around. Everyone in the kitchen had stopped and was staring intently at their head chef. "What are you fools doing! There are hungry people out there!" she bellowed and they went immediately back to work. "You," she said motioning to Sanji and putting the pan down at last. "Come with me."

**.x.**

She lead him to a small table in the back of the dining room and seated herself across from him. "Yes," she said quietly. "I remember you. What do you want with me?"

Sanji stared and blinked a few times. "I'm so terribly sorry but I really don't remember _you_."

She raised a brow. "You're kidding." He shook his head. "My name is Carmen. You defeated me in a cook-off in Rogue town several years ago." Still nothing. "The prize was an elephant fish."

"Oh! Yes!" he cried finally recalling what she was referring to. "That was an awesome fish."

"This isn't about the bloody fish!" Carmen hissed back. "What do you want? Money? A job?"

Sanji's curled brow raised. "What?"

"Don't be a cad. You're here to black mail me!"

His eye went as big as a saucer. "No! Nononono. Absolutely not. I really didn't even remember that contest until you brought it up!" She didn't seem to believe him. "I'm the head chef at the Sea Note. My employer is thinking of buying this casino so I came over to have a look. That's all. Really."

Carmen narrowed her well-makuped eyes at him. "Alright. I believe you. I know we're for sale. You're at the Sea Note, eh? That's Sairen and Clef's establishment, isn't it?"

At the mention of Harmony's name, Sanji deflated a little. "Yeah," he grumbled and lit a cigarette.

"Any idea what'll become of my restaurants?"

"Not yet. Deal's not done yet anyway."

Carmen's mouth curled up into a devious grin. She waved for the bartender to get them drinks. As she was on the job, she had a Shirely Temple and Sanji had a Vodka Collins. "You're the head chef over there, are you?" she asked.

"Yep."

"How do you like working for Miss Sairen and Mr. Clef?"

"Fine."

"You don't sound fine."

He shrugged. "Got nothing to do with work."

Carmen sipped her drink and watched him carefully. "You're in love." Sanji nearly spit his across the table. "And you're miserable because of it. She doesn't love you."

"Hey now!" he cried, both wounded and irritated at her assumptions.

"It's true, isn't it? Don't worry. I'm not psychic. I'm just good at guessing at these sorts of things. What's the problem?"

"This is none of your business…"

"I know, but I do so love match-making. Perhaps I can help?"

He glared at her, but she was strikingly beautiful and the glare didn't last long. "I don't know," he said and stirred the rest of his drink. "I think she got her hopes up about me…" He explained how he had met Harmony when she was just a girl and she had sailed with him for two weeks. In that time, the shy girl spent a lot of time at his side in silent awe of him. He had thought it was cute, but she was so young that the only feelings he had for her were of a brotherly sort. When they met again three months ago Sanji fell head over heals for the young woman she had become and thought she felt the same. Now he was sure that the image she had built up in her mind and in her heart did not match reality and she was disappointed in him. Sanji hunched himself over the table and moped. Carmen ordered him another drink.

"Well, what do you have in common?"

"I told you. We sailed together and we work together."

Carmen frowned. "I mean hobbies, not work. Does she cook?"

Sanji choked on his drink. "No. Two weeks ago she went to make herself a sandwich in one of my kitchens. I don't think she ever came away with a snack and we still don't know how the fire started."

This elicited a shudder from the fellow chef. "Alright. What does she do?"

"She's a performer. Singing, playing instruments, dancing…"

"Dancing. Perfect!" Carmen cried, standing up. "I will teach you to dance and sing and win your lady-love's heart!"

"Really!" Sanji clasped his hands together and stared dreamily up at her.

"_Your_ lady-love, not me. Hello, Earth to Sanji. Focus!" She slapped him across the face to get the hearts floating around his head to disappear. "I will help you if you help me."

"Always a catch," he grumbled and rubbed his face.

Carmen grinned. "Guarantee me a job when you buy this establishment."

Sanji shrugged. "Sounds fair." He stood and shook her hand.

"Good! We start tomorrow, two hours before the dinner rush."

He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked back out onto the dazzling streets of Largo at night, not quite confident but at least hopeful. There was still that snob Krähe to contend with, after all.

_More to come…_


	11. Music Maestro Please!

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

By Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Eleven - Music Maestro Please!**

Three days later Harmony hadn't seen much of Sanji and if not for his restaurants running perfectly again, she would have thought he up and left. Just after lunch she went in search of him to ask him what he thought about the move.

"That's all," she muttered to herself as she walked through the hall from her apartment toward the elevator. "Just business." She descended a floor and knocked on his door. No answer. "How's it going?" she asked the Sanji in her mind; the Sanji that probably didn't think of her as any more than a little sister. She got back on the elevator and entered the lobby. "How do you like the idea of running the kitchens at the Platinum Lounge, too?" She searched high and low for him and finally gave up.

Dragging herself down to the second and smaller theater in her club she heard the Looney Gen Band warming up for the evening and listened from just outside the front of house. A small grin formed as she eavesdropped on the band then she jogged off toward her own dressing room.

**.x.**

Mokuhana Gen patted his bassist - a tall, lanky young man with small, round sunglasses - on the back and hopped down off the stage. "Sounds great, jerks!" he called to them affectionately. "See you in a few!"

Gen wore a purple velour track suit, white and black patent leather Creepers and a bright red hat with a black feather jutting out of one side. He was slightly overweight but didn't seem to mind. He swaggered side to side as he walked and had he been using a cane he could have easily been mistaken for a pimp.

Gen was no pimp. He was a former Franky Family member: a dismantler of ships and a scavenger. He was also a singer-songwriter and a Class-A partier. Gen knew how to have a good time and how to share that good time with his audience which is why Harmony kept him on as a steady act in the second theater. He was an excellent entertainer, a good guy and an achiever. Harmony couldn't count the number of times he'd asked her if she'd let him play in her theater, the main stage at the Sea Note. As she approached him, he asked again.

He looked up and saw his employer standing at the front of house waiting for him. "Ha-chan! Gonna let me play in your room?" he called out to her jokingly. She rolled her eyes and smiled at him "Long time no see! You been back a week and we ain't seen hide nor hair o' ya. Too busy with that limp-wrist Krähe I bet."

"Gen-san…" she scolded.

"What? You don't think he's playing for the other team?" Gen made an exasperated sound. "Hey, not that there's anything wrong with that! Now, what can Gen do for you, Princess?" He bowed exaggeratedly.

Harmony giggled. "I want to give you something," she said and motioned for him to follow her.

**.x.**

The theater at the Platinum Lounge was empty between acts. Gen's eyes went as wide behind his dark glasses as he entered but he said nothing. Harmony led him to the piano in the orchestra pit and turned to face him. "I've got a present for you," she said with a facetious grin on her face. Just before he could shout out with joy, she pulled a piece of paper from her breast pocket and handed it to him. Gen seemed confused, but took the paper.

"A song…?" he asked.

"I wrote it for you and the band. Would you like to hear it?"

He blinked a few times. "Ah... yeah! Sure. Thanks, Princess. You really shouldn't have!" He took a seat in the front row and listened as Harmony demonstrated the song, her flexible voice easily able to fit into the notes she'd written for Gen's baritone.

"_Natsu ha kusemono, omae doko na no ka?_

_Masaka uso da ro! denwa ni dete kure!"_

It was a medium tempo song in that semi-old fashioned style that Gen was famous for. It was also light, poppy and cute. Gen knew it would be perfect for his fun, easygoing band.

"_Odoru hikari no naka, katamari tsuzuketa_

_Keitai nigirishime, katamari tsuzuketa."_

Harmony quickly wrapped it up. "I know you'll do all kinds of crazy things with it. I imagine lots of 'lalalas' and 'whoa babys'" she said with a laugh. Gen scratched the back of his head and laughed too. She stood and walked past him into the aisles. "So what do you think of this theater?" she asked.

Gen shrugged and pouted. "It's fine."

Harmony gave him a sidelong glance. "Are you sure?"

His pout deepened. "Well, could use some more acoustic tiling on the walls. They tried and failed with whatever that weird wooden shit is over there," he said pointing to the sound baffles. "And the slope is all kinds of wrong. Everyone'd have a head in their frickin' view. Otherwise, looks ok."

Harmony smiled. "Good. We'll work on it." She turned and headed back up to front-of-house. "When the repairs are done you can move in."

Mokuhana Gen was speechless. He stared at his boss as she left, her hands held behind her back and undoubtedly a huge grin on her face. "Oh man! You had me goin'!" He shouted when his voice returned to him. He jumped up and ran to her, picked her up and spun her around. "Princess, you totally rock! I'm gonna go tell the boys!"

Harmony gave a surprised squeal of a laugh as she was spun around. Gently, Gen put her down, kissed both her cheeks quickly, patted her upper arms and ran off for the Sea Note. "See you later, Gen-san!" she called and waved.

Incredibly satisfied with her accomplishment, Harmony hummed to herself and decided to check out the rest of the theater. Up the stairs and around the balcony she found the entrance to the light booth, left open in expectation of her visit. She perused the equipment which was a bit archaic but would suffice until funds had been allocated to invest in an update. She was just about to play with the colorful switches and buttons when she heard voices from the stage.

"… have to get used to it!" a woman's voice urged.

"But Carmen…!" Sanji's voice whined.

"No buts!" she laughed and dragged him out from stage left. Harmony ducked down and watched from the shadows, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Ready?" Carmen asked, striking a pose.

"Oh yes!" Sanji chimed, his apprehension about being on stage washed away by the beautiful woman offering him her arms. He took her by the waist and hand and together they began to dance in the silence.

Harmony's heart started working its way up into her throat but before she could look for a suitable place to be sick in she started to cry. The tears startled her and quickly and quietly she ran from the light booth and didn't stop until she crashed down on her bed back in her apartment at the Sea Note.

**.x.**

Carmen was ruthless but ever how much he might have complained about her grueling practice sessions, Sanji had hope and that, he decided, was enough. After his tenth session he went to the Nautilus to get a drink and be social before calling it a night. Opus greeted him with a nod and made him his 'usual'. The drink was called a 'Monsieur Kamayatsu', a martini of Opus' invention with vodka, black raspberry liquor and plum wine.

"I'm surprised I remembered how to make that," Opus commented. "It's been a while, Sanji-san."

"Yeah. Sorry about that, Opus," Sanji apologized. "Anything interesting happen while I was away?"

Opus rubbed his mustache and thought for a second. "Oh!" he cried. "I meant to tell you!" He looked left and right and leaned in toward the chef. "I don't usually repeat things I hear my patrons say, but I think it's important that you know. Gen and the band had one of their old friends down here," he said knowingly, giving Sanji a wink.  
"You lost me already." He lit a match. "Gen's friends are important because…?"

Opus straightened up. "Sorry. Thought you knew. They used to be gangsters. Sort of. They're from Water Seven…"

Sanji stopped just short of lighting his cigarette. "The whole band are from the Franky Family?" he asked.

Opus nodded. "Their leader was in this very room not a month ago."

"Franky!" Sanji shouted, attracting the attention of everyone in the room. He thought fast. "Shinatura Franky? I love that guy!" he shouted, referring to a singing star who was featured at one of the other casinos in Largo. "Big guy, big arms, star tattoos, blue hair?" he hissed to Opus who nodded. "Holy shit, I thought he was dead."

"So did Gen-san, apparently." Opus lowered his voice even further. "The reason I wanted to tell you this was because he was talking about the Straw Hat pirates."

Sanji let his drink and his cigarette go unattended as Opus recounted what he'd heard Franky say about Robin and the strange man who rescued her. "So Robin could be alive…" he said softly and took a deep breath. "It's not much, but it's better than what I knew. Thanks, Opus," he said, getting up off of his stool and leaving his drink behind. He walked toward the staff entrance and disappeared into the inner halls connecting the bar to his restaurants.

Sanji emerged a few feet from Harmony's front of house and poked his head in the doors. The female house manager began to shoo him out but simply rolled her eyes when she saw the familiar blond twirl toward her surrounded by floating hearts. She pointed to free a seat in the last row and he kissed her hand as he passed by. On stage the Palast Orchestra was just getting into their second set. The band played, but Krähe was nowhere in sight. Just when Sanji thought he'd actually enjoy the performance, a measure before he was to sing, the band leader emerged and stepped up to a large, shiny silver microphone.

"_A table near the band - a small one_

_Some cigarettes, a drink, yes, a tall one_

_And, waiter, I could use a chaser for my blues…"_

'_Yeah right,'_ Sanji thought. '_He's like the cat that ate the frickin canary. Probably trying to think of a way to suddenly have to stay another month right now!' _Sanji folded his arms and glowered in vain at the stage.

"_Tonight I mustn't think of her. Music, maestro, please!_

_Tonight, tonight I must forget how much I need her, so Mister Leader_

_Play your lilting melodies, ragtime, jazztime, swing_

_Any old thing to help me ease the pain that solitude can bring."_

'_You gotta be kidding me…'_ Sanji thought, seething with anger. His shoulders slumped and he contemplated the lyrics harder. '_Oh please, he's not singing at me. That song just happens to be sadly appropriate. Can I beat this Krähe guy? I mean look at him! The suit, the hair, the moves, that voice! I'm gonna hafta work my ass off!' _Sanji tapped his foot nervously much faster than the beat. '_And pray he goes the frick away so I don't look stupid by comparison…'_ he agonized.

"_She used to like waltzes, so please don't play a waltz._

_She danced divinely and I loved her so - but there I go!_

_Tonight I mustn't think of her - no more memories._

_Swing out! Tonight I must forget - music, maestro, please!" _- Magidson/Wrubel 1938

'_Ok,'_ Sanji wondered. '_Maybe he is singing to me. This song is too much…' _As it came to an end he excused himself past the people he'd sat next to and left as applause filled the theater. "I'm just gonna hafta do better!" he announced to the house manager who rolled her eyes at him again as he left.

_To be concluded!_


	12. Showtime

**Night and Day**

_**A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story**_

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Twelve – Showtime**

The day before Rupert Krähe and his entourage were to leave Largo, Harmony held a huge party to thank him for filling in and to wish him and his band well. Sanji catered the event flawlessly like the consummate professional he was. There were mounds of exotic purple shrimp cocktail, fine sausages wrapped in philo dough, delicate miniature crab cakes with complex and well balanced spices – and that was just the first three appetizers of seven to be devoured by the appreciative guests. Dinner was lavish in its intricacy and perfection, but not overdone in quantity and everyone cleaned their plates.

After dessert was served and he could finally relax, Sanji sat down at Harmony's left, took a deep breath and attempted to keep from saying something inappropriate to the guest of honor seated at her right.

"This has been really special," Krähe said, raising a glass to his hostess. "We can't thank you enough."

"But I'm sure you'll try," Sanji grumbled.

Harmony heard it but ignored him. "There's no need. I'm just showing my gratitude." She smiled. On the small stage near the head of the table the Looney Gen Band picked up their instruments and shooed the band before them off. They began playing an upbeat but appropriate tune for the occasion. Krähe engaged Harmony in more small-talk and Sanji stewed in silence, disturbed only by a waiter bringing him his Monsieur Kamayatsu which made him remember Opus and the news he'd overhead.

"Ah! Harmony! I just remembered!"

She rolled her eyes. _'Another attempt to distract __Krähe, really cute, Sanji,' _she thought. "Mr. Krähe, shall we dance?" she asked. He raised a brow and looked straight at Sanji for a beat before standing and offering her his arm. Sanji blinked a few times, stood and grasped her other arm, staring at Krähe defiantly.

"I just remembered that someone told me that Robin is most likely alive," he hissed. "Have a nice night, _Ojou-sama_." Sanji let her go, turned on his heel and walked out of the dining room. Harmony stared at his back, slack-jawed. Tears came to her eyes and she struggled through a pile of emotions to find something to say but nothing came.

She was startled as Rupert Krähe put his hand on her shoulder. "Would you like to go somewhere a bit more private and talk, Miss Sairen?" he asked.

**.x.**

Sanji didn't know how he ended up in the Nugget. Perhaps it was just that he was on auto pilot and he'd been going over there so frequently in the last month it was simply where his feet took him. Or perhaps he knew that going up to his room to be by himself would only make him more morose. Carmen saw the ashen look on his face and dropped everything. She snapped her fingers and drinks appeared and the two commiserated at a small table in the back of the restaurant.

"She hates me," he said finally after taking the first loosening sip of his Vodka Collins.

"How can that be?" Carmen asked, disbelievingly.

"She's in love with _him_."

"_Who_ him?"

"Krähe."

"Rupert Krähe?" Carmen asked, stars coming to her eyes. "Oh, we went over to see him last week. His band _es increíble_ !" Sanji shot daggers with his eyes at his dance partner. "Sorry. She's in love with him? But isn't he…" she raised her left arm and let her hand droop from the wrist.

"I don't know! Does it matter?! She moons over him and totally ignores me!"

Carmen grinned and reached forward to clutch Sanji's hands. "I swear to you I will make certain she won't be able to ignore you!" Sanji looked hopeful for only a moment before slumping back down in his seat. "Alright, Mister Pouty Pants. Go home and get some rest. You're going to need it."

Once Sanji was out of sight Carmen rubbed her hands together and giggled to herself in a most out-of-character fashion. The waiter who collected the empty glasses stopped and stared at her for a second. "What are you so delighted about, Miss Carmen?"

"I'm delighted by my own brilliance!" she crowed and danced away from the table, laughing, attracting strange looks from the restaurant's other patrons.

**.x.**

Krähe walked Harmony to her apartment and kissed her hand. "Thank you for a most wonderful evening, Miss Sairen."

She blushed. "It was nothing."

"Now I think you should get some sleep. It's been a long night," he pointed out. Harmony nodded. "And I have a long day ahead of me. Tomorrow's performance will be one to remember!"

"I don't doubt it, Mr. Krähe. I don't doubt it." She smiled and closed the door.

Krähe furrowed his expressive brows and pouted slightly. "Now," he whispered to himself. "How can I _truly_ tell you how grateful I am…?" He pivoted and walked back down toward the stairs to get to the public elevator.

At the same time, Sanji was coming up in the private elevator. He dragged himself down the hall a floor below Harmony's and unlocked his own door. As it closed behind him, Krähe emerged from the stairwell and waited for the public elevator. Both Sanji and Harmony fell onto their beds at the same moment and attempted to get some sleep.

Krähe stepped out into the lobby and was flagged down by a bellhop. "Mr. Krähe, I have a message for you," he said. "There's a lady to see you."

"Oh?" he wondered and looked in the direction the bellhop indicated. He didn't recognize the red haired woman but approached her anyway.

"Mr. Krähe!" she greeted him. "My name is Carmen. I saw your performance the other day and it was _magnifico_!"

"Thank you, Madame, but I…"

"I'm not a raving fangirl, Mr. Krähe, I'm a friend of a friend of yours, Miss Harmony Sairen?" Krähe's brow rose suspiciously. "I believe we need to talk."

**.x.**

The following evening the performance was set to begin and Sanji was dragged unceremoniously toward his seat. He wore a tuxedo of simple yet classic design. "I don't see why I have to be put through this!" he argued to Carmen who wore a deep violet crushed-velvet dress so long it only just showed her pointed heels. She pulled him gently, as they were in public, but her patience was wearing thin.

"It's for your own good! You need motivation! Your enthusiasm has waned. If you see her on stage tonight with 'the Other Man' it will drive you wild!" she cried.

"It'll make me want to jump on stage and choke the shit out of him!" Sanji argued.

Carmen pushed him down into his seat and frowned at him. "You will watch and you will learn and if you want me to be successful you will do as I say!" He folded his arms tightly but didn't attempt to flee. That would have to do, she decided, as the house lights were dimmed and the performance began.

The band filed in and took their seats to applause and began to play the introduction of "Music Maestro Please", the song Sanji had heard them practicing a while ago. The effect of the very similar looking men in stark tuxedos under the stage lights was simple yet attention-getting. Sanji muttered something incoherent and undoubtedly derogatory but lost his ability to speak at all as Harmony entered the stage.

He hadn't seen her perform in a long time and certainly not backed by such an incredible orchestra. She began playing her violin almost immediately and only bowed her head demurely to the crowd. She was not the star and she wanted them to know it. But she was a star and this was irrefutable. Her jade-green satin dress hugged her curves and accented her curly pink hair and tanned skin incredibly well. Sanji didn't dare blink. Carmen watched him carefully and smiled.

Harmony turned her body to stage left and the music swelled. Out came Krähe and Sanji frowned and hunkered down in his seat and remained there until intermission.

When the lights came up, Sanji bolted for the door followed closely by his mentor. "Don't you think about running away!" she called after him.

"I'm running to the bar!" he shouted.

"Oh no you don't!"

Sanji stopped and glared at her. "Now I can't even drown my sorrows?!"

Carmen flushed. "You mustn't dull your senses. I will buy more drinks than you can handle when this performance is over." He narrowed his eye at her and before he could ask her what she was up to Carmen whipped out a fan, batted huge, feminine puppy-dog eyes at him and he melted. She bapped him on the head with the fan gently to scold him for giving her attention. "_I'm_ not your Lady Love. Concentrate."

He looked a bit deflated but agreed and they returned to their seats for the second set.

Behind the scenes, Krähe reappeared from behind a screen dressed in tails. "Are you ready for your big number, my dear?" he asked Harmony who was seated in front of a mirror and was staring vacantly at her own reflection. "I know it's sort of last minute. You can back out if you like…"

She shook her head. "Sanji is in the audience. I want him to see this."

Krähe put his hands on her shoulders. "Of course. Ready?"

Harmony nodded and accepted his helping hand.

Carmen stared at the stage with wrapped attention and a slow grin began to creep across her face. She leaned forward and clenched her hands. Finally, as Krähe crooned "You've opened heaven's portal here on Earth for this poor mortal. You are my lucky star!" and pointed out into the audience with a sly wink and Carmen bolted up out of her seat.

"Come on!" she urged Sanji who was blocking her way.

"I get to leave now?" he asked pitifully.

"Sort of." She shooed him along and they left the audience. Dragging him around the theater to the left they approached the stage door which was opened for them by a security guard.

"Oh, I see. It wasn't enough that I should be subjected to this from far away I've got to get up-close and personal, right? What's wrong with you?!" he begged his apparent torturer.

"I am going to get you the attention of your Lady Love!" Carmen argued, shushing him as they approached the wings.

"What? You think if I waltz out there and pop Krähe in the maw that'll make Harmony fall all over me?!"

"No no," she half ignored him. "Waltz, yes. Pop, no."

"What…?" Before Sanji could do any more complaining, Krähe finished up singing 'You Are My Lucky Star' and headed off into the wings toward them. Sanji straightened up, ready to give the ostentatious bandleader a knuckle sandwich when Carmen reached out and clutched his hands.

"Are we ready?" she asked anxiously.

Krähe titled his head toward the stage as the band geared up into a familiar song. Sanji's blood ran cold. "Oh no!" he cried.

"Oh yes," Krähe cooed. The song they were playing was called "Night and Day" and just happened to be the very same song Sanji had been practicing with Carmen. "Do you think you can do it?"

"This a test?" Sanji snarled back.

Carmen smacked his arm. "Be grateful!" she hissed. "I begged Mr. Krähe to do us this favor."

"I don't want any favors from him!" Sanji retorted.

"Sixty seconds," Krähe noted with an ever-spreading grin. "I taught her the steps last night. You'll have to account for the change in height as Miss Sairen is significantly shorter than Miss Carmen but otherwise it should be fine. The microphone awaits you, Mr. Sanji."

He stared out at the stage as Harmony was seated in a chair by one of the band. A female member appeared and took her violin and began to play it for her. She seemed perplexed and looked into the wings for Krähe

"Twenty seconds," Krähe drawled. "Do you think you can do it?"

Sanji stared at Harmony and his pulse raced. "Guess I don't have much of a choice in the matter, do I?" he said quietly.

The violinist began to pluck the strings and Sanji strolled toward the microphone. He was suddenly painfully aware that the theater held 500 seats (minus two for his and Carmen's). The audience seemed confused but the lights hid their puzzled faces. He dared not look at Harmony as he grasped the large, silver microphone and began to sing.

_Like the beat, beat, beat, of the tom-tom_

_When the jungle shadows fall_

_Like the tick, tick, tock of the stately clock_

_As it stands against the wall…_

Finally adjusted to the groove of the song he turned his head and glanced at Harmony. Her expression was priceless: totally confused, shocked, astounded and sitting as still as a doll. He smiled and pulled the microphone stand toward himself so that he could turn his body more toward her.

_Like the drip, drip, drip, of the raindrops_

_When the summer shower's through_

_So a voice within me keeps repeating you you you…_

_Night and day you are the one_

_Only you beneath the moon _

_And under the sun…_

Sanji gesticulated toward her and his smile finally broke her of her shock. Her eyes were wide with amazement, but she tilted her head to one side and listened appreciatively.

_Whether near to me or far_

_It's no matter, darling, where you are_

_I think of you_

_Night and day!_

_Day and night why is it so_

_That this longing for you follows wherever I go?_

_In the roaring traffic's boom_

_In the silence of my lonely room_

_I think of you_

_Night and day!_

He noticed a certain brow raise that told him she was wondering what was to come next. 'Are you really going to dance with me?' it seemed to say. He nodded slightly and grinned even wider. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

_Night and day under the hide of me_

_There's an oh such a hungry yearning burning inside of me_

_And its torment won't be through _

_Till you let me spend my life making love to you_

_Day and night - _

_Night and day!_

Sanji relinquished the microphone and gracefully stepped toward Harmony as she stood, expectantly. His right hand in hers and his left on her shoulder, they began to dance to the lively music supplied by the band. He couldn't get over how amazing she was. In only 24 hours she'd learned the same sequence that had taken him weeks to master. Her body moved as if the routine were only natural. Four measures into the instrumental they reached a quiet four-measure section that called for them to dance quite close, her head rested on his shoulder. "I just couldn't let that hack Krähe show me up," Sanji whispered to her as they danced.

"I didn't know you could dance!" she hissed back.

"Funny. Neither did I." The music began to swell. "Ready?" he asked her and she nodded. They took off across the stage following the rolling rising rhythm. They twisted and turned elegantly, not a step out of place. Finally, they released each other, Harmony moved to stage right and Sanji to stage left.

Carmen and Krähe watched from the wings, Krähe looking as cool and confident as always and Carmen chewing on the knuckle of her index finger. "Here it comes!" she piped anxiously. Krähe nodded.

Sanji stepped slowly toward Harmony as she rushed toward him and leapt up into his arms. He twirled her around as the music fluttered back down and put her back on her feet. A quick turn and a low dip then he pulled her up to his chest, clasping her hands tightly as the song finally ended and the surprised audience applauded demurely, still not sure where Rupert Krähe had gone to and who this other guy was. Harmony was at a loss for words. She couldn't help but swoon and raise her chin toward his lips to accept a long-awaited kiss. The applause suddenly grew louder and some even shouted and cheered the couple. Krähe returned to his position and urged the band which had also become distracted to begin playing the next song, "Dream A Little Dream". "Ladies and Gentlemen, Harmony Sairen and Sanji," he purred into the microphone and applauded them off stage, smiling graciously.

Carmen's tears flowed unfettered. "_Perfecto! Parfaitement! Kanpeki_!" she gushed and hugged Sanji tightly. "You did it!" She released him and opened her arms to Harmony who looked a bit stunned. Carmen grasped her shoulders and kissed her cheeks.

"This woman…?" Harmony wondered.

"I'm sorry! My name is Carmen" she said, rolling her 'r' and bowing while blotting her eyes. "I had the honor of teaching your man his steps."

"Teaching…" Harmony said slowly, closing her eyes and turning to Sanji. "Oh, I'm such a fool. I saw you dancing. I thought you and she were…"

Sanji's jaw dropped. "Ah!" he exclaimed. "But I…!"

"Well, you were fawning all over her," Harmony insisted. "It was an easy mistake to make!"

Carmen nodded. "See! I told you, I…"

"Carmen," Sanji said, not taking his eyes off of Harmony. "I think perhaps you need a drink."

She pulled a fan out of nowhere and waved it with a sly, satisfied smile. "And a seat, for I have been completely knocked out of mine. That was simply _wunderbar_!" she chimed and pirouetted away into the shadows of backstage.

Harmony stared up at Sanji. "You do tend to fawn all over every girl but me…" she said quietly. "I thought I was just your 'Oujousama'."

"Oujousama," he said, taking her hands in his again. "I am desperately in love with you."

"Then _show_ me," she whispered.

Sanji smiled and bowed to kiss her again. "I will… Night and Day."

**END.**


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